MoLex Pt. 04

The call ended, but their conversation stayed with her for the rest of the day. It wasn't until much later in the evening that her eyes snapped open with recognition. She finally realized who "Summer" was.

She was preparing material for her YouTube channel. She absently looked across her room deep in thought, and her eyes fell on her lightsaber. As it always did whenever she looked at it, her thoughts roamed to Alex.

"I'm not Summer, Lexxy."

Those words hit her like a Mack Truck. She didn't even know why they came to her, but at that moment, she was engulfed in a memory.

She and Alex were on the phone after a fight in which she told him she just wanted to be friends. He took it so personal, like she was rejecting him. She couldn't understand it at first, but as they talked, she recognized the anguish of a heart crudely mishandled.

"Tell me about her." she said knowingly, connecting with his pain. "Tell me about the one who broke your heart." (Lexxy Baby, Pt. 04)

That was the moment his walls crumbled to dust. At that moment, she earned the thing that a man only gives to a select few. It goes past love and trust because this is something that cannot be earned. If a man willingly gives you this, he is yours for life, no matter what phase of partnership you are in.

Alex gave her his vulnerability.

He told her a story; a story about a girl whose smile was so bright her mother named her Summer. But it wasn't a happy tale. It was one filled with heartbreak, toyed emotions, and damaged self-worth.

In it, he dropped the woman that he loved off to a motel room to meet a guy named "Robbie". Robbie matched Hector's description, though at the time she didn't make the connection. (Lexxy Baby, Pt. 04). In great detail, he described what that moment did to him and how it affected his self-esteem.

And now, as she looked back at that moment, tears started to stream down her face. This could be one of the world's biggest coincidences, but there were too many to brush off. The way Alex looked at Hector, especially that day in Walmart a few weeks ago, screamed of a haunted familiarity. It was like he was reliving a trauma.

"Oh fuck! Alex!" she cried aloud as she thought about him in the gym, standing off to the side and watching her workout with Hector. For her, the two of them wrestling around the ring was nothing more than a workout. For him, it had to be torture.

How could he stand that? Why didn't he say something to her?

That was their problem right there. As friends, they told each other everything. But in the brief time since they'd confessed their feelings for each other, it was like they suddenly turned into different people. Their easy-going relationship now had expectations, and those expectations made them instinctively hide a part of themselves. They fell into the trap that most people do when they first get romantic.

The need to impress became greater than the need to be open.

Transparency. Honesty. Feeling safe enough around each other to be vulnerable. That was the secret weapon to their connection, why they fell in love in the first place. But they lost it because the moment they had sex, they looked at each other with lust instead of friendship.

Monique picked up her phone, scrolled through her contact list, and found Alex's number. Her thumb hovered indecisively over the "call" button on her screen.

She wanted to call him so badly, but the millions of reasons against it flooded her brain.

Would he answer for her? After almost four months, was there even anything left to talk about? What if he'd moved on? What if he was still angry with her?

Seeing how his last memory of her was being embraced by Hector, she'd probably be the last person he wanted to talk to.

With a frown, her thumb moved away from the button. A sense of hopelessness fell on her.

Just as she was about to toss her phone on the desk in front of her, it suddenly rang in her hand. Alex's phone number disappeared from her screen and was replaced by Toni's smiling face.

Monique sighed. Picking up the phone, she said, "Hello?"

"Hey girl." Toni returned. "What's up? Anything new?"

Monique let out a breath before saying, "You just don't know."

"Ooooooo. Sounds juicy. Spill." Toni said, her interest piqued.

________________________________________________

Alex loved amusement parks.

There was something nostalgic about them that always brought him back to happier times. The melodious sounds of carnival-like music mingling with delighted screams from a distance. The smell of sugary foods mixing with popcorn and pizza. The inviting lights standing over the entrances of haunted houses and roller coasters, enticing you with the promise of a safe brush with death. Just the experience alone can momentarily turn you into a kid again.

Sarah also loved amusement parks but hated roller coasters. She was afraid of them. This was always humorous to Alex because it betrayed her bad-ass-bitch mystique.

Before their mom altered the course of their lives, before his dad became a drunken shell of anger, his family would come here. His mom would take him on the rides, and his dad would take Sarah to play the games. There was something here for everyone.

Now, the two siblings walked the amusement park they came to as kids, only now their family dynamic had changed. Prices had gone up, rides became more extravagant and dangerous, but the sounds, smells, and lights remained the same.

This year, Brianna's 14^th birthday conveniently fell on Saturday. Since she was a summer baby, she usually had the luxury of outside activities as a way to celebrate. The problem was, she hadn't really had many friends.

This year, however, she seemed to have gained a newfound popularity. She had the opulence of 4 girl friends to invite. So, for her birthday, she wanted to go to the amusement park. Her parents had no objection, and made it happen.

Unfortunately though, Darius had to work. Sarah was not going to suffer a day alone trekking 5 young teens around, so she invited (gave him no choice) Alex to tag along. Luckily for her, Alex loved hanging out with his niece, and jumped at any chance to do so.

As the two siblings found out, there was more to this birthday celebration than popcorn and roller coasters. The group of girls just "happened" to run into a group of boys around the same age. And it was hard to not notice Brianna's infatuation with one of them.

Very clever, Brianna.

The original plan of letting the girls go off and enjoy themselves while the adults stood close by was forsaken. These new developments required a more attentive chaperoning style. As it so happened, Sarah's dislike (fear) of rides left him shouldering more of the chaperoning duties. He was the one standing in line with the teens while she was sitting comfortably on a bench with her favorite book.

Who got the better end of THAT deal?

As Alex herded these little monsters around the park, he noticed a worrying difference in his niece. She less resembled that intelligent, unique girl he knew and loved, and started to look and sound like...someone else. These boys in attendance -- one of them in particular -- had somehow transformed her into a giggling, eye-batting barbie. And these girls that she'd befriended seemed like the stereotypical "popular girls". You know...make-up that erased the youth from their faces, smiles that seemed more condescending than genuine, and eyes that rolled at everything. Add the annoying gum-popping, and you had perfect understudies for "The Heathers" or "Mean Girls".

The Brianna he knew had nothing in common with them. She had to lower herself to even be able to carry a conversation with them. As Alex stood in line after line with them, he couldn't help eaves dropping occasionally.

There was one girl (Tasha) who was obviously the leader of "the little bitches". She stood perpetually unimpressed by everything. Nothing was "cool" enough to pass her sophisticated test of "class and maturity", and she seemed to be going out of her way to let Brianna know that. There were a lot of snide remarks, underhanded compliments, and indifferent sighs as she flipped her hair.

It would also seem that Brianna wasn't the only one smitten with the boy named Braxton. Whenever there was a pair needed to ride the rollercoasters, Tasha would maneuver the group and make it so she ended up sitting with him. If Tasha saw Brianna talking to him, she rudely interrupted.

Alex did NOT miss being a teenager. Then again, were adults any different?

The dynamic between Brianna and this Tasha girl worried Alex. He was less concerned with her juvenile infatuation with the boy. Having a crush was a natural part of her growing up. However, the way she allowed Tasha to constantly denigrate her in front of the group was not natural.

From the outside looking in, it was obvious that this girl's attitude towards Brianna was nothing more than an overcompensation for her jealousy. Truthfully, anyone who laid eyes on Brianna could tell you that she won the lottery from both races she was mixed with. Her soft brown eyes almost seemed translucent in the sunlight. Add that to her complexion, which was naturally golden, and her entire face looked like it glowed in the dark.

And then there was her hair, which had the pure curliness of her black ancestry mixed with the silkiness and length of her white ancestry. What this ended with was a full-bodied afro that flowed down to her shoulders. There are women who pay good money to pull that off, and Brianna woke up like that every morning.

But, to win the acceptance of the resident "Queen Bee", Brianna allowed this girl's snide remarks to go unchallenged. She took it, laughing it off as if she were in on the joke. But secretly, it was tearing her apart inside, bit by bit.

It was heartbreaking and a little disappointing. Brianna was stronger than that. Alex made a mental note to talk to his niece later and remind her how awesome she was.

But later was coming sooner than he realized.

After he and his "companions" had ridden every major roller coaster, darkness had started to fall. Feeling it was time to wrap things up, he led the girls to where he left Sarah. She wasn't there, but he did find her by a basketball shooting game. Darius had made it out after all. Now, his natural athleticism was winning his wife an overstuffed teddy bear.

"Did you have fun?" Sarah asked him teasingly when he approached. His face was serious though, so the humor fell from her expression as she worriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

Alex shrugged. "I think we need to talk to Brianna."

"About what?"

Behind her, Darius was furiously shooting basketball after basketball, twirling them in the air and into the hoop. Bells rang, lights flickered and flashed, and a small crowd was now cheering him on. He was hyper-focused on his task, blocking out everyone else and staying true to his mission. Alex had to pull Sarah away so he could detail his observations to her.

As this was going on, no one was paying attention to the teens. Little did they know, at that moment Tasha was putting on her grandest performance.

A girl like Tasha only has a few conversational tools in her utility belt. Hair, clothes, snide remarks, and boys. However, she weaponized these meager bullet points with great effectiveness.

Somehow, they got on the conversation of washing hair. Three of the girls were white, one of them was Asian. Neither of them had hair like Brianna.

A little-known fact about black people's hair: they can't wash it as often as white people. There are natural oils in it that are essential. If they are stripped away, the hair will dry out.

So Tasha, in her ignorance of this fact, saw this as an opportunity. What started out as a light conversation soon devolved into Tasha making jokes about how much lice Brianna must have crawling around up there in her "rat's nest of a hairdo" (BTW, black people have less cases of lice than other races because of these oils).

Nevertheless, she kept needling that insult, no matter how untrue it was. And it started to catch. Soon, the "joke" had snowballed into the entire group getting in on the action. Even Braxton's dumb ass was adding his two cents, much to the Little Bitch's delight.

The adults didn't see this part. This was the sneaky shit Tasha did when there weren't ears around. What they did witness, however, was Brianna's warrior cry as she suddenly lunged at the girl with all claws out. The two girls ended up on the ground with fists full of each other's hair.

All three adults sprang into action. Even Darius left his game unfinished to sprint over to the commotion. It took all of them to pull the two girls apart. Sarah pulled Tasha one way; Alex grabbed Brianna the other way. Darius stood between the two, making sure they couldn't get to one another.

This was when Tasha's true colors showed. In a fit of anger, she spit out, "Fuck you, you little half breed! We shoulda never came to your little corny birthday party. The only reason we did was because Braxton was gonna be here!""

This only doused Brianna's rage with gasoline. She screamed, "I'm gonna kill you, bitch!" as she started fighting against Alex's hold on her, trying to wriggle free so she could go for round two.

As for Sarah's part, when she heard that shit, it took all her willpower to not turn on this little bitch herself. She had half a mind to let both girls go so Brianna could whoop that ass properly. But she reminded herself that she was the adult, and she had to act like one. At least with all these people watching.

Alex finally dragged Brianna away from the situation. He got her out of the line of sight of everyone else where he could talk to her.

"Brie Brie! It's over. I need you to calm down." He said to her sternly.

Brianna's eyes locked with Alex's. Suddenly, all the anger melted away. It was replaced with abject sadness. She looked at her uncle with shimmering eyes, and then broke down in his arms.

"What's wrong with me?" she wailed against his chest. "Why don't people like me?"

Alex sighed as he held his niece close to his heart. He too found himself asking that question. Why was the world so harsh? So racist? Why was everyone so concerned with Brianna's heritage that they failed to see the beauty in this special girl. And not just inner beauty. Brianna had a face people would spend money for.

His thoughts shot to his own father. That only increased his anger. He should be here. His granddaughter was turning 14, and he hadn't even called to wish her happy birthday. Hell, he probably didn't even know it was her birthday. It's not like he paid attention to any of her milestones.

Alex released his niece and held her at arm's length so he could look her in the eyes as he said, "Brie Brie, you listen to me. Listen good because I need you to get this."

When their gazes locked, he continued with, "You're gonna run into a lot of people in your lifetime who will look at you and judge you without getting to know you. The world is shitty. But you need to know that there is NOTHING wrong with you! You don't have to change for ANYONE, especially jealous little bitches like that!"

"But why?" she asked, her countenance looking so defeated. "Why do people care if my mom is white and my dad is black? What does that have to do with me? I'm my own person! That shouldn't matter."

Alex nodded, a humorless half-smile on his lips. "I know. It shouldn't. And to be honest, it doesn't matter to real people. Only shitty people focus on shitty things."

Brianna sniffled, then cracked a small smile amidst the tears. "When you buy me a car..." she half-joked. "...that's going on my bumper."

It took Alex a couple of seconds to catch up. When he did, he cocked his eyebrow and looked at her suspiciously. "Are you seriously angling for a car now? You do realize you don't have a license yet, right?"

"That just gives you time to save up for my Jeep."

"JEEP?"

The two of them shared a laugh as he ruffled her hair. This was why this girl was so amazing. Maybe he was biased, but there was no way any other teenager came close. Even amid being humiliated by a "friend", as well as her first crush, she still had a sense of humor about things.

He took her to one of the overpriced food stands and bought her some Sour Dough. Then the two of them walked aimlessly along the pavemented path and talked. He gave no thought to what was happening with his sister and the little bitches.

Perhaps it was a little selfish, but he was glad to hang out with his niece apart from everyone else. It was something he hardly got to do.

"You know..." he started to share as they meandered. "...when I was getting ready to go to high school, I met this girl. Her name was Summer. She'd just moved in down the street from me. I saw her, out on her porch reading a book, and I instantly fell in love. I know that sounds corny and cliché, but that's the only way I can describe it."

"It does sound kinda corny." She said after pulling a piece of bread off and eating it. She glanced up at him, and in a more wistful tone, she asked, "Did she feel the same way about you?"

"No. She didn't." he answered. "She thought I was a good friend."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

It was funny how, even after all this time, the scar of that wound remained with him. Sure, he was over Summer, but that period still affected him all these years later. He was changed because of it, some for the better and some for the worst.

Kind of like Monique and Trey.

"Did she ever become your girlfriend?" Brianna asked.

Alex shook his head at the gruesome nostalgia. "Nope. The closest I got was pretending to be her boyfriend so her mom would let her outta the house. Then, the two of us would drive so that she could meet her real boyfriend."

Hector's face instantly flashed before him. He was Summer's boyfriend. And Mo's. One man stealing the hearts of both women he fell in love with was proof that life had a sick sense of humor.

"Wow. That's harsh." Brianna said, not realizing just how on the money her statement was. "You shoulda ditched her and found a girl who actually liked you."

Alex sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, you're right. But love is rarely logical. No matter how many times she killed me, I just rose from the ashes of my heartbreak and walked beside her like a Phoenix."

She looked up at her uncle, a smirk on her face. "Did you come up with that?"

"Yeah. And on the spot too. Maybe I missed my calling as a poet."

That earned him a laugh. She looked off into the distance before asking, "Does it get better? You know...love? Friends? I'm always overlooked because I don't dress like a tramp. And the people my age are so stupid!"

Being different is always hard as a kid. Brianna can fake being like the rest of the crowd, but only for a short while. No matter what, people like him and his niece were never going to fit in.

"It does get better." He reassured her. "The problem is, right now everyone else is exactly the same. It's like their made in a factory. They all dress alike, think alike, and do only what everyone else is doing. That doesn't work for you. You're different. Unique. Yeah, you can pretend to be the same as everyone else for a bit, but pretty soon your uniqueness always shows through."

"That sucks." She said, sadly taking another bite of her Sour Dough.

"Only for a bit. As you grow, you'll find people not made in the factory. They will look at your differences and find them charming. Those are the people who will be worth your time. Fuck the rest."

Fuck 'em. Timely advice from a wise person.

Alex's thoughts suddenly shifted to Toni, which of course turned to Monique. She was one who found beauty in his uniqueness, even when he couldn't see it. His lifetime of love being ripped away from him made him blind to the fact that someone could possibly love what he had to offer.